BTS’ Rap Monster Reveals He Learned English By Watching ‘Friends’
By Bryan Ke
Rap Monster, the leader and main rapper of K-pop group BTS, has revealed where he learned how to speak English, and it’s all thanks to the critically-acclaimed American series “Friends”.
Rap Monster, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, spoke with OC Register in April 2017 before the group’s concert in Anaheim, California for their The Wings Tour.
The 22-year-old singer, rapper and songwriter described “Friends” as some sort of pillar for English education in South Korea during its peak of popularity in the ‘90s.
“It was kind of like a syndrome. Korean mothers make their kids watch ‘Friends’ even when they were eating food or playing,” the BTS leader said in English.
“I think it really helped. It has like 10 seasons, I think, and I watched it like more than five times through the 10 seasons,” Rap Monster added. “They use the gestures and expressions, like, Americans use, right? I think that naturally teaches me how to speak or how to make a gesture when you try to express some emotions.”
American TV shows have also helped a lot of children from any country learn the language even when they are at home.
“Friends”, which aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, is an American situational-comedy that follows the story of six best friends, Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), who all lived in New York City.
The show is arguably considered one of the best series aired on television, as apparent to ratings made by the fans from IMDb and TV.com as well as on Common Sense Media, which gave the show an 8.9/10, 9.2/10 and 4/5, respectively.
“Thank you, ‘Friends,’” Rap Monster said in the interview. “God bless ‘Friends’!”
Images via Instagram / @risemore_rm
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